Following a thorough independent assessment of the several “fincas” – the ponds where Litopenaeus vannamei is farmed – the first two Rainbow suppliers have been found to be compliant with* Friend of the Sea* sustainable aquaculture criteria.

Rainbow Export Processing SA in Costa Rica supplies processed tropical shrimps to Ristic AG. Ristic is at present the only company in Germany that markets farmed shrimp certified by the Institut für Marktökologie (IMO, Institute for Market Ecology) and Naturland in Europe. As such, Ristic occupies an exceptional position among importers of uncooked shrimp. Its products are obtainable in Germany from Aldi and Kaufland while they are also available in other European countries and as retail brands.

Ristic shrimps come from species-friendly, organic aquacultures in South and Central America. They are reared on organic food, without any use of antibiotics or chemicals. Audit by an international certification body, based on Friend of the Sea criteria has further confirmed their sustainability and respect of water parameters, among which limited amount of seawater (2-3%) in order to prevent salinization. Furthermore the fincas are developed in full respect of tidal mangrove areas.

“Friend of the Sea has requested improvement in management procedure of some farms and continuous and comprehensive water parameters monitoring” informs Dr Paolo Bray, director of Friend of the Sea “Ristic has engaged in rapidly implementing the recommendations and has already undertaken appropriate action”.

“Friend of the Sea is a competent partner who understands our concern and engagement” comments Mr René Diers, MD of Rainbow S.A. “We chose Friend of the Sea as we want to communicate consumers our special efforts in a transparent and well-founded way”. “We appreciate the Friend of the Sea label as a complement to our certified products” adds Michael Struffert, director of Ristic AG.